Whimple railway station

Whimple railway station serves the village of Whimple in east Devon, England. It is operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 163 miles 2 chains (262.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.

Whimple
Seen from the east in 2016
General information
Location	Whimple, East Devon England
Coordinates	50.768°N 3.354°W / 50.768; -3.354
Grid reference	SY045973
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	WHM
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
1860	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	55,532
2019/20	49,766
2020/21	13,136
2021/22	36,474
2022/23	39,808
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The old station building

The station was opened by the LSWR on 19 July 1860, along with its Exeter Extension from Yeovil Junction to Exeter Queen Street. The station was situated to the east of the village and designed by the architect Sir William Tite. The main building was situated on the up platform and was two-storeys high to provide the station master with accommodation. The goods shed was nearby at the east end of the station, and a signal box was built opposite on the other platform in 1875. In 1892 Henry Whiteway established a cider factory on the north side of the station. This generated much of the goods traffic at the station; in the 1930s it was estimated that the factory was responsible for 30,000 tons of traffic each year.^[1]

On 11 June 1967 all passenger trains were diverted to the down platform. The track through the northern platform was retained to serve Whiteway’s factory, but the signal box was closed and the train crew operated the points.^[2] Public goods traffic was withdrawn on 4 December 1967 but Whiteways continued to handle rail traffic. The station became unstaffed on 5 October 1970.^[1]

The Whiteways factory closed in 1989 and this allowed a redevelopment of the site. The goods shed was demolished in 1991 and houses were then built instead. The following year the original London bound platform was extended across the disused formation of the London bound track to meet the running line and was brought back into use. The other platform and the footbridge were then demolished.^[1]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Sidmouth Junction		London and South Western Railway Salisbury to Exeter		Broad Clyst

Facilities

The single platform has a simple metal and glass waiting shelter, as well as a ticket machine, a help point and bike racks..^[1]

Services

The station in 2006 looking east.

All services at Whimple are operated by South Western Railway using Class 158 and 159 DMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is one train every two hours between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo via Salisbury, increasing to hourly at peak times.^[3]

Due to the short platform at this station, passengers wishing to alight need to be in the front 3 coaches of the train as the platform can only take 3-car trains.^[4]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Feniton or Honiton		South Western Railway West of England line		Cranbrook

See also

• Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury

References

1. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
2. Phillips, Derek; Pryer, George (1997). The Salisbury to Exeter Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-525-6.
3. Table 160 National Rail timetable, May 2022
4. Jacobs, Gerald (2005). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Bradford-on-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 0-9549866-1-X.

External links

• Train times and station information for Whimple railway station from National Rail